"Six fiends..." He Qingman slowly nodded, showing no fear; instead, her beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement. She sharply ordered, "Everyone prepare, looks like we'll be opening our account first." The seven martial artists from the Heavenly Evil Grotto instantly straightened up, their faces suddenly serious, a dense battle intent radiating from them.

Shi Yan nodded secretly.

The Heavenly Evil Grotto was indeed one of the three major powers in the Galo Sea region. These younger martial artists had no prior experience fighting the Black Scale Clan fiends. Hearing that six fiends had snuck up on them, not only was not a single one nervous, but they were all faintly excited—clearly a group of fierce and seasoned fighters.

"Be careful. In these caves, those Black Scale Clan fiends can conceal their aura. They might be right in front of you before you even notice," Shi Yan leaned against the stone wall, his expression lazy, and offered a reminder.

Barty and the others looked at Shi Yan with some confusion after hearing his words, staring at him strangely.

"You all had better take his warning seriously," He Qingman saw the disbelief in her followers' eyes. "If he says the fiends can hide their auras, he's certainly not wrong. Remember, stay focused, no distractions allowed!"

"Didn't he not even know about the Black Scale Clan yesterday..." Barty mumbled under his breath, his eyes odd.

"Yesterday was yesterday," He Qingman huffed, though she was also slightly bewildered as to how Shi Yan had suddenly become so familiar with the Black Scale Clan. However, Shi Yan's performance last night had already dispelled her doubts about him. "Remember, the fiends might arrive invisibly; don't get ambushed."

"Relax. With me here, those fiends won't be able to go invisible," Shi Yan smiled lightly, unhurriedly. "One hundred and fifty meters away now, hmm, approaching this way. About fifty meters ahead, there seems to be a slightly wider stone cavern. That cavern should be a mining area for Black Spot Copper. I think if we really have to fight the fiends, moving there would be more suitable. Otherwise, everyone will be constrained; it's hard to utilize one's full strength in a narrow tunnel." He Qingman paused slightly, hesitating for two or three seconds before nodding faintly. "Let's go to the cavern ahead. It’s wider, and fighting there will be more convenient. The terrain here is indeed narrow; we should find a better battle zone." He Qingman took the lead, her graceful figure shooting forward like a streak of dark light.

Shi Yan smiled faintly and quickly followed at a leisurely pace, keeping close behind He Qingman’s delicate form. Before long, he arrived at the stone cavern with her.

This cavern was about the size of a basketball court, with obvious signs of excavation around the edges. The stone walls were lined with many troughs of varying sizes, and in a few of the troughs, specks of golden copper light flickered—apparently the Black Spot Copper ore.

There were three or four tunnels leading out from the four sides of the cavern, their destinations unknown.

Shi Yan and He Qingman’s group stood on either side of one tunnel entrance, their expressions solemn, paying close attention to any movement within the passage.

"Is it this one?" He Qingman glanced at Shi Yan and lowered her voice. "How much longer until they arrive?"

He Qingman and Shi Yan leaned against the stone wall beside the tunnel entrance, shoulder to shoulder. Fearing that a loud voice might alert the approaching fiends, she not only spoke softly but also leaned close to Shi Yan's ear.

A breath of intoxicating fragrance drifted quietly into his nose, causing Shi Yan's heart to stir. He subtly held up fingers to indicate a number with his left hand.

He Qingman nodded gently, signaling understanding. Then, across the tunnel entrance, she transmitted a message to her followers, informing them how long it would take for the fiends to show themselves.

Holding the Soul Gathering Pearl in one hand, Shi Yan secretly calculated, using his senses to feel the auras of these Black Scale Clan fiends.

The Black Scale Clan fiends possessed an innate advantage in the sunless caves; their bodies could almost entirely conceal themselves.

Generally, unless one possessed a Sea of Consciousness—a Realm of Nirvana martial artist—it was difficult to detect the auras of these fiends.

He Qingman and the others had not yet reached the Nirvana realm. Although these Black Scale Clan fiends were already very close to them, they still couldn't detect the slightest movement.

However, Shi Yan, who held the Soul Gathering Pearl, possessed incredibly keen mental perception. He could clearly sense the masses of life auras belonging to the fiends, and he could even faintly feel their caution and the thin thread of malice emanating from them.

Spiritual Sense! Sea of Consciousness!

In the dim cavern, Shi Yan’s eyes shone brightly. He secretly made a firm resolution: once the soul power within the Soul Gathering Pearl could be absorbed, he would immediately use that pure soul power to forge his own Sea of Consciousness.

As he utilized his spiritual power, he gradually realized the immense advantage a superior spiritual force provided in combat.

"Soon?"

He Qingman exhaled like fragrant orchid, whispering near his ear again. The intoxicating perfume felt like a heart demon tempting him, making Shi Yan momentarily distracted.

Shi Yan turned his head to look at her.

In the dark cavern, He Qingman’s beautiful eyes were incredibly bright, and the vital essence within her delicate body churned like a surging tide, constantly condensing.

Drawing upon the Soul Gathering Pearl, Shi Yan secretly sensed it—he could faintly hear the sound of rushing wind coming from He Qingman’s body.

Just then, the Black Scale Clan fiends, only thirty meters away from the cavern entrance, suddenly halted.

The leading fiend, whose aura was the most potent and sinister, emitted a strange, spiral-like wave of mental fluctuation that slowly drifted toward their position.

That fiend had discovered something!

"Make your move!" Shi Yan leaned close to He Qingman's ear and roared, "They've spotted you! While they are still in the passage, attack immediately!"

"Hmph!"

He Qingman cried out sharply, her neck flushing in the darkness, her delicate body trembling slightly.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" "Chii! Chii! Chii!"

Streams of divine weapons and sharp implements, accompanied by multi-colored sword glows and rainbow light, suddenly shot into the passage where the fiends were waiting.

Instantly, piercing shrieks erupted from the passage. Conical projectiles flew from He Qingman's palms; a sharp wind seemed to fill these projectiles, making them as fast as lightning and granting them terrifying penetrating power.

"Despicable humans!"

A sinister, sharp scream suddenly echoed from the tunnel.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" "Clang! Clang! Clang!"

A continuous barrage of metallic collisions sounded from within the tunnel.

In the narrow passage, dazzling light suddenly burst forth.

The leading fiend, standing three meters tall, pressed his head against the cavern ceiling. His black scales radiated a strange, dark luster.

On his scales, dots the size of copper coins slowly moved, appearing quite bizarre.

All sorts of divine weapons and sword glows slammed against his scales, yet they could not penetrate the black armor at all. They only caused the coin-shaped spots on the scales to slow their movement slightly.

Even the conical projectiles released by He Qingman only caused his imposing fiendish body to stagger slightly when they struck him.

The fiend roared, utterly fearless. Ignoring the hail of attacks, he charged rapidly toward them. He Qingman and the others, standing at the cavern mouth and benefiting from the brilliant light, saw the fiend's advance and showed expressions of horror.

Although they knew the Black Scale Clan fiends possessed extraordinary scales, they never expected these creatures' scales to be so terrifying.

So many attacks had struck the black scales without breaking through the defense of this physical armor. If this fiend managed to close the distance, how could they possibly fight him?

"Light!" Seeing the situation deteriorate, He Qingman suddenly shouted.

Barty and the others wasted no time, immediately taking out all the illumination stones they carried and hastily placing them on the cavern ceiling and in every corner.

The previously dim cavern suddenly brightened. Under the light of more than a dozen illumination stones, the basketball-court-sized cavern became as bright as day.

The Black Scale Clan members could conceal themselves in darkness, but with so many illumination stones deployed, driving away all darkness, the fiends' bodies were immediately exposed.

He Qingman knew she couldn't stop these fiends from entering the cavern and realized they were forced into a battle within the cave. Thus, she prepared the lighting beforehand to avoid being completely suppressed in the darkness and ambushed to death.

"I refuse to believe I can't break your scales!"

He Qingman saw the cavern intensely illuminated and the leading fiend about to charge in, taking advantage of the light. She suddenly cried out coldly.

A silver spear instantly appeared in her fair left hand. As the spear materialized, the cavern was flooded with dazzling silver light.

A silver serpentine creature slowly drifted out from the silver shaft of the spear amid the brilliant silver radiance. As this strange snake emerged, an extremely sharp aura suddenly burst forth within the cavern.

The silver serpentine creature was five meters long. After emerging from the spear, it actually swallowed the spear in one gulp, then suddenly transformed into a silver arc, shooting swiftly toward the leading Black Scale Clan fiend.

The fiend, who had essentially blocked all attacks with his body, showed a look of gravity in his dark-green demonic eyes as the silver arc shot toward him.

A bone spike, stark white, suddenly protruded from the seam between the scales on his chest.

This bone spike was a meter long, seemingly a bone from his own body, still clinging to some blood, looking terrifyingly chilling.

Grabbing this bone spike, the fiend's aura instantly became several times more ferocious. His dark-green pupils were filled with savage madness.

The bone spike trembled slightly, accurately seeking out the silver arc shot by He Qingman. The tip of the spike struck the silver light.

"Chii!"

Specks of silver and white light scattered everywhere. Stone fragments flew wildly within the cavern, and roaring sounds constantly erupted, making it seem as if the cavern was about to collapse.

The silver light He Qingman had shot out instantly returned like lightning, reforming into the spear in her hand.

Inside the cavern, the fiend, with a fierce expression, holding the bone spike that had emerged from his own body, his fiendish energy surging, walked out from amidst the flying stone debris, taking his position first within the cavern.

Another white bone spike emerged from a gap in the scales on his back. He pulled out that spike with his other hand, holding a bone spike originating from his body in each hand. He swept his gaze over He Qingman and sneered in strange human speech, "Human girl, you definitely haven't experienced a man of our Black Scale Clan, hehe, I'll make your life a living hell!"

He Qingman's expression changed.

Shi Yan's eyes also gradually grew solemn.